


The Dragon Lord's Son

by TheNightFury



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-03-12
Packaged: 2017-12-04 22:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightFury/pseuds/TheNightFury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, when Arthur was born, Ygraine didn't die, and Balinor was named the court sorcerer of Camelot. Shortly after Merlin is born though, Balinor and Hunith are killed, so Uther decides to take Merlin in as his ward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a story I originally posted on Fanfiction.net but I thought I'd post the first chapter and see if anyone here is interested.

Camelot rejoiced when their new prince was born. All of Camelot celebrated, especially when Ygraine recovered from the strange illness that nearly took her life. Gaius, by some miracle was able to whip up a remedy for her, though where he obtained it remained a mystery. Uther hardly bothered himself with that; he had a beautiful healthy son, and his wife would recover. What else was there to worry about?

Not to long after that, Uther's old friend Balinor returned, but this time he came with a woman that was apparently his wife: Hunith. Uther instantly named Balinor his court sorcerer and gave both Balinor and his wife a place in the castle. Hunith loved taking care of Arthur, and Arthur loved her. Despite her remarkable recovery, Ygraine fell ill often, and usually was too weak to even get out of bed. Every time Hunith would take it upon herself to care for both Arthur and Ygraine.

Hunith could never truly understand the depths of Uther's gratitude. As much as he'd like to, he simply could not always be there to care for his son and wife. As King, he had to take care of his people as well. When Arthur turned three, Hunith became pregnant, and Uther couldn't have been happier for his friend.

At first Uther worried that Arthur would become jealous or feel ignored. In fact, it was the opposite. Arthur would go on for hours about all the things he and his new 'brother' would do. Hunith would laugh and tell him they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, but Arthur insisted the baby would be a boy and eventually Hunith even started referring to the baby as 'he' instead of the baby. Then the unthinkable happened: Hunith went into labor two months early.

Balinor was beside himself with worry for his wife and the baby. Most newborns born this early died shortly after birth, more times then not taking the mother with them. A few hours later Gaius burst into the council meeting insisting that Balinor come immediately. Fearing the worst for his friend Uther ran out after Balinor. Uther froze in the doorway of Balinor's chambers, a smile forming on his face. Ygraine was sitting on the bed beside Hunith, gushing over the tiny bundle in Hunith's arms.

"It's a boy!" Ygraine whispered, tears of joy leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"Told you" A small voice whispered triumphantly. Uther turned to see Arthur peeking in the doorway, grinning,

"What's his name?" Uther asked.

"Merlin," Hunith replied smiling. Ygraine stood and let Balinor sit in her spot. Balinor wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed her forehead. He tentatively reached down and stroked Merlin's thin cheek. That's when Uther really saw how tiny Merlin was; even for a baby he was so small.

"Will he be ok?" Uther whispered to Gaius who'd remained quiet throughout the entire conversation.

"He's not out of the woods yet," Gaius replied slowly, "but for the most part he seems pretty healthy. I have a feeling he will make it." Uther breathed a sigh of relief as Hunith asked in a hushed tone,

"Arthur, would you like to meet Merlin?"

Arthur nodded excitedly and ran over to the bed. Balinor helped pull Arthur up on the bed and set him down on Hunith's other side.

"We're gonna be best friends Merlin," Arthur declared reaching a tiny hand out. Merlin clamped onto it tightly and Arthur laughed,

"He likes me!"

"It would seem so," Hunith whispered. From that moment on Merlin and Arthur where inseparable. He was always asking if he could help take care of Merlin, and when Hunith asked him why he was so sure he and Merlin would be friends Arthur replied,

"A big gold lizard said so!" Ygraine laughed and scooped Arthur up in her arms.

"Of course sweetheart," She replied kindly.

"But it's true!" Arthur whined.

When Merlin was old enough to walk, he started following Arthur like a lost puppy; he looked up to Arthur, and did everything with him. He went to training with Arthur, even though time and again he proved his uselessness with a sword; and he waited faithfully by the door when Arthur sat with his father during dull meetings.

Arthur took it upon himself to look after Merlin like a good older brother would. When some of the older boys made fun of Merlin for being so weak, Arthur took it upon himself to teach them a lesson, resulting in a black eye for Arthur and a hysterical Merlin. Uther might have been angry about Arthur's sudden attachment to Merlin, but Merlin was the son of a good friend. He secretly wondered if one day Merlin would follow in his father's footsteps and become the court sorcerer when Arthur became king. Balinor was sure Merlin was a warlock; he'd seen the small bursts of magic himself, while Merlin remained oblivious to his powers.

All of the residents of the castle, including Uther, very quickly grew to love Merlin: his innocent smile; the way he was so full of life and energy; and the way he could make you smile after a hard day. Ygraine especially loved Merlin; she treated him like a second son. Whenever she got sick and Hunith was busy, Uther often found Merlin curled up on her lap telling story's to make her feel better. To Uther, it seemed life couldn't be better, until one day everything came crashing down. It was a few days after Merlin turned five. Uther was in a meeting with Balinor and the rest of the council discussing border issues when Gaius burst into the council chambers breathlessly.

"What's wrong Gaius?" Uther asked worried.

"Sire, you must come quickly!" Gaius gasped.

"What's happened?" Uther asked standing up.

"It's Ygraine, Sire," Gaius explained, "She'd dying…"


	2. Chapter 2

Uther was sure he'd heard Gaius wrong; his sweet Ygraine couldn't be dying…

"She doesn't have much time," Gaius insisted. Uther ran to his chambers, ignoring the servants questioning glances. He even nearly knocked Merlin over in his haste, not even responding to Arthur's screams to apologize to Merlin. All he could think about was his poor Ygraine. He burst into his chambers to find Ygraine slumped into the pillows, her breath short and sweat covering her face. Uther collapsed onto the bed and took her pale hand in his own. She gave him a weak smile and whispered,

"Uther… Please… Take care of him…"

"There must be something" Uther pleaded. She shook her head slowly.

"Gaius did… Everything he could… Don't be angry…"

"No… Never," Uther whispered, tears streaming down his face.

"Mother?" Arthur asked, panic evident in his voice.

"Arthur…" Ygraine whispered. "Come here sweetie." Arthur ran over to his mother, quickly climbing onto the bed.

"What's going on? Why's dad crying?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur… I'm sick" Ygraine explained.

"Gaius will make you better! He always does!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Not this time honey" Ygraine whispered as gently as possible.

"You're gonna be ok right?" Merlin asked in a small voice, still standing by the doorway.

"Merlin, come here," Ygraine beckoned, her voice becoming more breathless. Merlin obeyed and ran over to the bed. Uther bent over and picked up Merlin and set him on the bed. Merlin crawled onto her lap and she hugged him tightly, also hugging Arthur to her side.

"I need you two to be strong for me… I love you both so much…" She whispered with as much strength as her body would allow. Arthur, seeming to understand a little better what was happening nodded his head, tears streaming down his face.

"You'll get better Gaius will make it better!" Merlin exclaimed, fear evident in his eyes. They could melt even a stone heart. Ygraine grimaced and opened her mouth to try and explain, but instead she gasped in pain and slumped down.

"Ygraine?" Uther whispered, and when he got no response he pushed Merlin aside and leaned over trying to hear a heartbeat that wasn't there.

"Mom?" Arthur asked, tears streaming down his face more rapidly then ever.

"Why won't she wake up?" Merlin whimpered.

"Get out," Uther whispered, anger flashing in his eyes. "GET OUT!" Merlin and Arthur scrambled out of the room. As Merlin ran he heard Uther let out a heart-wrenching sob. Merlin followed Arthur as he raced through the castle, utterly confused. She would be alright, Gaius would make her better; he always did. Arthur knew that, so why was he so upset? Arthur burst into his room and collapsed onto his bed sobbing.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"You saw what happened!" Arthur sobbed.

"Gaius will make her better…" Merlin replied, unsure what was making his friend so upset.

"Don't you get it?" Arthur snapped, rounding on Merlin. "She's dead! Gone forever! She's never gonna wake up again, EVER!" Merlin stood in the doorway trembling, tears streaming down his face.

"She's…gone?" Merlin whimpered. Arthur slumped over, hating himself for making his friend cry. Arthur nodded his head and Merlin jumped onto the bed wrapping his tiny arms around his friend. Arthur knew that it wasn't becoming of a prince to cry, but he was eight years and he'd just lost his mother, and Merlin wouldn't care if he wasn't acting like a prince. That's why Arthur liked being around Merlin so much: he could be himself. At that moment, nothing mattered; his mom was dead, gone, forever.

Gaius gravely strode down the hall to Balinor's chambers, knowing that Uther was in no condition to deliver the news. Gaius entered there chamber, his expression grim.

"Is something wrong Gaius?" Hunith asked. Gaius looked between Hunith and Balinor before speaking.

"Ygraine is dead."

"What?" Balinor asked, disbelief written plainly across his face.

"Her sickness was too strong for any of my remedies. She died a few minutes ago and Uther is a mess."

"I'll go talk to him," Balinor informed him, striding out of the room with Gaius hot on his heels. Hunith stood as well, beginning to follow them. She stopped. There was nothing Gaius could do, but maybe there was something she could do. She knew the price would be heavy, but she knew it would be worse if Ygraine wasn't saved. She then walked in the opposite direction, determination written across her features. She stopped when she reached Arthur's room. His door was ajar, like it had been flung open.

She cautiously walked towards to door and smiled at the sad sight before her. Merlin and Arthur were asleep on Arthur's bed; both had tear stains on their cheeks. Arthur clung to Merlin tightly, as if he were the only thing keeping him from falling away. She gently pulled the covers over their sleeping forms and planted a kiss on both of there foreheads and whispered,

"I'll miss you."

She wiped a stray tear off her cheek, and was gone.

Uther angrily paced the room, completely ignoring Balinor.

"I don't understand… Why did this happen?"

"She was very ill, Sire…" Gaius began but Uther cut him off.

"Why did she get sick though? She was perfectly healthy until Arthur was born…"

"It could be that something happened to her during the birth that caused problems for her…"

"Or… Maybe Nimueh did something to her," Uther growled.

"What does she have to do with this?" Gaius asked.

"She… Ygraine could not conceive. For years we tried but… Nothing. Nimueh said she could help. Ygraine said she'd do anything to have a son…" Gaius and Balinor's eyes widened in horror.

"Didn't she tell you?" Gaius asked.

"Tell me what?" Uther asked angrily.

"When a life is created or saved by magic… Another life must be taken in return," Gaius explained.

Uther stood there frozen, his horror turning to anger.

"This was caused by magic?"

"I don't think Nimueh meant for this to-" Gaius began fearfully.

"Magic is evil" Uther hissed.

"So you mean to tell me," Balinor growled, "that I am evil? That Merlin is evil?" Uther froze his mind in a whirlwind. He thought about Merlin: the boy who cried when he found a bird with a broken wing; the boy refused to learn how to hunt because he hated to see anything suffer. But Merlin had magic… was Merlin proof that magic wasn't evil, or was he the exception? Either way Uther knew that there wasn't an evil bone in Merlin's body.

"Magic isn't the problem," Gaius whispered, "Nimueh is." That's when Balinor realized that something was wrong, very wrong.

"Gaius… didn't Hunith follow us?" Balinor asked.

"Yes... She was..." Gaius replied slowly then froze. "You don't think she-"

"Find her," Balinor snapped, "Now!"

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought!


End file.
